Warning for folks going into this thinking it is a romantasy, IT IS NOT. Very much NOT. No romance here.

I am not giving this book a rating as I essentially DNF'ed it (read the beginning, got suspicious, read the end) and can't rate the actual quality of the book. I started reading and the vibes were *immediately* off for a romantasy. Poked around some reviews and made the decision to just jump to the end to confirm. Along with being full fantasy, no romance, I think the method of storytelling is one I wouldn't have jived with.

I have a feeling the writing is actually good, the book just is very much not for me. I think this is a story that would appeal to more traditional fantasy readers, especially if you like a darker/more tragic story that plays with folklore.

I loved this. This overall was a good fae story. In a world of fae overload, this is one I would suggest. It is a retelling but done so beautifully.

I love a good retelling of old tales. This was a really well executed new version of the Ballad of Tom Lin. I am obsessed with the fae lore in this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good fae story, and The Changeling Queen offers a classic setup with a few modern twists. The visuals are beautiful, and the deluxe edition formatting is a treat. However, the story itself felt more familiar than fresh.

There’s charm here, but I found myself wanting deeper characterization and more narrative tension. The stakes never felt urgent, and the protagonist’s journey hit expected beats. It’s a solid read, especially for fans of lighter fae fantasy, but it didn’t quite stand out in a crowded genre.

I would have to give this one 3 stars. I was very excited about this book but what held it back from being a higher star rating for me was definitely the verbiage of this book. It just felt so thick and hard to get through at times. I know that the setting is medieval so when the characters are speaking to one another it’s more understandable but for the rest of the book it just felt so thick and hard to get through. I will say that I am not well versed in the ballad of Tam Lin so maybe that would’ve helped some but parts of this book just felt very hard to get through. Once I finally started to get more used to the authors writing style about 70% of the way through I did find reading it much more enjoyable and found myself really wanting to know where the story would go.


Over all I did like the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read it.

I really enjoyed this book. The cover caught my attention and then seeing it was a Tam Lin retelling I wanted to read it as I hadn’t read the folklore before.
I really enjoyed the journey you go on with Bess and The Shepherd for the first half of the book and the small introduction to the fae. When we start the second half I was ready for the story to move on but did feel it progressed too quickly. I really liked her interaction with the Dark fool this gave a much needed dark side to those trickster fae we love!
Overall I enjoyed it and felt it was written well

Beautiful, breathtaking enticing and wonderful in glad to have read this and miss the way reading this for the first time made me feel, thankyou for this chance and this world

Bess is a Changeling who is thrust into a world she is woefully unprepared for because of an ailing human mom and absentee father who treat her terribly. The mom gave her some skills but I won’t give away spoilers. This story is one of self discovery, tragedy, love and loss! Go into it knowing that! The story has good world building and good characters, it bounces around the story line a bit, so pay attention. If you’re into Fae and Changeling vibes then you will like this one!
The FMC struggles to maintain the her relationships due to deep trauma she has suffered and the main MMC protagonist is a wee bit a pot stirring alpha hole. Good magic system and fae court drama prejudice is present.

Overall
4.3 🌟 1.25 🌶️

Beautiful story and well written. Really good describing of the characters and the scenes.
I didn’t know the Scottish legend that the book was based on but I googled it and I am glad that this book helped me to find this story.
Strong female characters yes but I don’t think I could see the feminist that it is described for the story.
However I really enjoyed it. :)

I was really intrigued by the description. Love Quicksilver, Love Outlander... wasn't familiar with Ballad of Tam Lin, but see Acotar was slightly inspired by it.

The very beginning is fun and exciting.... but then starts flash backs, someone going on and on about their history and why they are doing what they are doing... and it just kind of dragged on. Didn't really care for anyone within the story.

You go back to the present, and it's just as annoying. There's some Scottish terms, but that's about as Outlander as you get.... and Quicksilver... is it cause they exist in a human/fae world? I saw no other links. In the end, you just don't care about anyone.

I was hopeful with this one, but after the first few chapters I just don’t feel like it’s my cup of tea

Actual rating 3.5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing company, and the author for allowing me to read this book for free in exchange for my truthful opinion.

Things I didn't like:
I read a few reviews of this before I started reading, and a couple mentioned that they couldn't find the 'feminism' that the marketing promised, and unfortunately, I'd have to agree. I don't think you can slap an abortion (one that didn't even end up happening) into a fantasy book and claim it's feminist. Strong female characters? Sure, but plenty of fantasy novels have those. Feminism needed to be in every facet of this story, the plot built around that value for that claim to be made, in my opinion.
A smaller complaint was that the beginning really failed to hook me, a few times I thought to myself 'why are we still pottering around doing nothing?'. The book should have started with the death of her mother, in my opinion. What was the point of everything before that? And something that's just occurred to me- after she saved the person who was fae-shot, why wasn't Bess distraught at the fact that she could have saved her mother? Just a small character inconsistency, I suppose. Or was she not fae-shot? Idk, that part was honestly a little confusing to me.
Another thing to me that was a bit of a plot hole: why did her shepherd king suddenly care so much about his duty? Sure.. the whole wanting to win his father's respect.. but he left that life once. Why not do so again? He apparently suspected what Bess was the entire time.. why not go to Faery with her? The previous Fae queen's consort was a human too, apparently that's acceptable in this world, so why not go and have political power there instead? Perhaps the ending for him would have been the same anyhow, but I don't know. Doesn't make complete sense to me. They loved each other till the very end. Why not be together until the end? Perhaps their relationship was just a victim of the retelling.

Why it still got 3.5 stars:
Yeah, can't lie, it made me really sad. And so much of me wants to put that as a negative, but that isn't fair, because if it makes you feel that emotion for the characters then it was good writing. Something I'm not in agreement with from other readers is that the love between Bess and her shepherd king was not real or worth her avoiding her fate. I felt their love so deeply. My heart broke when he broke hers, even though we all saw it coming from a mile away. And then shattered when she had to.. iykyk.
The writing itself was beautiful, the world was vivid and the second half of the book kept me thoroughly entertained.

Prior to reading this, I am sad to say I knew nothing about the original folklore of the “Ballad of Tam Lin” so I got a great introduction to the story. My best friend growing up was obsessed with faeries and the Fae, but this was far more enjoyable than I could have imagined. This was all parts romantic, tragic (dare I say?), and immersive.

The story from the perspective of the Changeling Queen herself was so interesting as we usually do not get the side from those who are not the narrator (usually mortals).

I went into this so apprehensive as I usually stick to my usual romantasy tropes and this was entirely different to my usual read. I thoroughly enjoyed it!


With it being a retelling of the Scottish Ballad of Tam Lin, I was entertained through out. Getting to dip into the faerie folklore etc was wonderful.
However I could have done with some oomph to keep me interested as there were times where it felt really slow and struggled to grab my attention.

Overall this was a lovely easy read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC read. This was such an interesting take on the “Ballad of Tam Lin” and the Scottish folklore included.

There was so much descriptive info in this one that you could visualise exactly what was happening, as well as having the story told from the Queen herself’s POV.

And how the “Bess Who Seemed” born as a changeling with the help of a midwife develops into her role over time, as well as the difficulties she faces in feeling as though she belongs nowhere on either side of the veil. And the heartbreak that follows, alongside the struggles of a dual heritage identity.

If you’re interested in the following tropes then this one is for you:

Morally grey FMC
Dark and atmospheric retelling
Forbidden love/chemistry

I enjoyed reading “The Changeling Queen,” and recommend it if you’re invested in fae folklore! I was not well versed in the Ballad of Tam Lin, and wished I had looked into it a bit more. I found myself liking that we were shown the “good” as well as the “bad” throughout the story. I feel that a majority of fantasy books pushed out now glaze over the darkness in the worlds we learn about.

I did find the book to be a bit slow, it took me awhile to get into the book. However, as I mentioned, that could be because I was not well versed in the Ballad of Tam Lin. I found that once the story did pick up though, I could not put it down!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book early!

I was hooked from the first few chapters, it puts a unique spin on the story and makes it refreshing to read!
If you like anything to do with fae, you'll love this one.

4.5 stars!
I really, really liked this book! I’d been in a bit of a reading slump, starting books, setting them down, nothing holding my attention. But The Changeling Queen had me hooked from the very first page!

The writing is stunning. Bea's prose is immersive, atmospheric, and incredibly vivid. I felt like I was walking beside Bess the whole time! I especially loved how the author used language that felt appropriate to the era. The dialogue had weight, the descriptions were lush, and even during slower stretches of the plot, I never once felt bored.

The narrative weaves two timelines together: in the present, Janet and the Faery Queen are locked in a struggle over Tam Lin. In the past, we learn how Bess came to wear the crown. I wasn’t as emotionally connected to the Janet/Tam Lin thread, but Bess’s story? I could not put it down. I read the book in under 24 hours because I was that invested!

I also absolutely loved how the fae are portrayed. They’re not just pretty people with pointy ears and magical powers—they’re otherworldly. They’re beautiful, yes, but also strange and frightening. Tricksters. Inhuman. Bound by rules like iron and salt, incapable of lying. The book draws heavily from folklore in ways that felt fresh but deeply rooted. There are so many different kinds of fae mentioned (which I was obsessed with), and the whole world feels rich, well-researched, and fully imagined.

Now, the blurb describes this as a romantic, feminist retelling. And while those threads are present, I’d say they’re not the main focus. The feminist themes mostly show up in Bess’s early life, and they’re very subtle. The romance was beautifully written, but I didn’t quite connect with it. Thomas, the love interest, felt realistic, but his actions (or lack thereof) made it hard for me to fully believe in their bond. Bess’s naivety around him really frustrated me at times, even if it made sense in context. I started to understand their connection more near the end, and there were definitely some lovely, tender moments, but I didn’t feel the romance as strongly as I wanted to.

Some plot points were predictable, largely because of the dual timeline structure, where hints from the present gave away parts of the past. But that didn’t lessen the emotional impact. I felt every twist in my chest. I was nervous, heartbroken, hopeful. Kimberly Bea knows how to make you feel—how to ratchet up tension and deliver emotional payoff, even when you think you know what’s coming.

This is a gorgeously written, atmospheric debut that reimagines a classic ballad with depth, heart, and dark folkloric beauty. I’m still thinking about Bess, and about the lush, terrifying world she came from. If you’re into stories about complicated heroines, tragic romance, or fae that feel truly other, this book is absolutely worth your time!

This was the first time that I read a historical fiction, and I'm surprised to say that I enjoyed it. I did have some trouble pronouncing some of the names in the book, and I had to go look them up. I also didn't realize that the story was actually a flashback at the very beginning, but that may have been an error on my part. I loved the world building. I could tell that Kimberly did her research on faeire. Overall, this is a good book and I really enjoyed reading it.

3.5 stars rounded up. A changeling left in the mortal world, unknowingly a queen. She must make a choice, embrace her mortal side or become the queen that faerie needs.
Here’s what I loved-This book had a wonderful story and it is beautifully written and descriptive. It truly is a fairytale written without rose colored glasses. We are shown the wonder and the beauty and the dark and the gory.
However, I did feel that the stakes just weren't high enough for me. It felt slow at certain parts and repetitive.There were some bits that were hard not to skim through just so I could get to the end. Without spoiling anything-I felt like I didn't *reallly* understand our point until the very very end. But I feel that I needed to be more familiar with the Ballad of Tam Lin to truly appreciate things.

I would recommend this one to anyone who loves folklore, fairytales, and twists from traditional point of views! Just beware that it may not be a heart-racing read.